


Duo in F Major for Starship and Cyborg

by i_am_made_of_memoriies



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Lesbians in Space, Music!, Romance, it's the inherent romanticism of being in the center of a symphony except the symphony is your gf, sometimes bonding over music is the most romantic thing ever actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27721343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_am_made_of_memoriies/pseuds/i_am_made_of_memoriies
Summary: Nastya spends time deep in the engine rooms of the Aurora and realizes truly how much she loves her.(Written for Aurora Blackbox: A Thousand Tales Untold zine)
Relationships: The Aurora/Nastya Rasputina
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Duo in F Major for Starship and Cyborg

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S MY ZINE PIECE! IT'S FLUFFY! CAN YOU TELL IM A MUSICIAN????

Nastya did not go planetside often. Unlike the rest of the crew, she had no real reason to. Jonny, of course, loved to visit local bars and cause chaos and violence, revelling in the bloodshed of strangers. Ivy, though somewhat introverted, was not averse to pirating all the information the planet had to offer. Raphaella, unsurprisingly, enjoyed studying the scientific advances and practices of the planet as well as studying the people themselves (and stealing some for test subjects, but they didn’t talk about that). Tim, like Jonny, enjoyed sparking chaos as well as explosions; he also frequented fine instrument shops between deadly blasts. The Toy Soldier adored visiting bars and dancing the night away while Jonny and Tim fought violently in the background. Marius was simply there to enjoy the scenery. Brian was there to babysit. And finally, Ashes was there to destroy the planet once the crew finished having their fun. 

Nastya, on the other hand, had everything she needed on The Aurora. It was always warm there, with Aurora adjusting the temperature before Nastya even entered the room. Nastya’s work was entirely on The Aurora as well, as she was the engineer. Sure, she needed extra parts from time to time, but she could always force Jonny to steal them for her; he enjoyed crime enough and though he’d never admit it, he cared deeply for Nastya and Aurora. But in all reality, it was when the rest of the crew was planetside that Nastya had her best moments with Aurora, her girlfriend. 

The crew all said goodbye to Nastya before they left, bouncing with excitement for their time on whatever planet Aurora landed on. Nastya gave Jonny an extensive list of supplies and a hug for the road before waving goodbye to the crew and retreating into the engine room, deep in the Aurora. 

The door of the engine room swung open before Nastya could even place her hand on it, warm air bleeding out of the threshold. 

_ It is just the two of us now, Nastya, _ Aurora told Nastya through flickering lights and gentle hums.  _ Though I love them all dearly, and I know you do too, we don’t have to deal with any fucking first mates, or weird soldiers, or broken doctors, or “weird look in her eye” scientists, or fucking gunners, or quiet archivists, or weird navigators, or even [adjective] quartermasters.  _

“No, we do not need to deal with any of them,” Nastya agreed, pressing her palm to one of Aurora’s panels. “Would you mind flying into orbit? I would love to see the stars from the observation window.”

_ Of course, Nastya.  _ Aurora’s lights flickered with affection. 

Nastya should not have been able to see space from the window of the engine room which, by all means, really should be in the middle of the ship, but Aurora made it work. As Aurora lifted off into orbit, Nastya, comfortably warm in the engine room, shrugged off her heavy coat and laid it on top of the pile of blankets and pillows situated in a corner. Nestling down on top of the pile, she gazed out of the observation window, her head resting gently on Aurora’s wall. 

“Have you ever wondered how many stars we’ve seen, love?” Nastya asked, watching as light glistened off the surface of the glass in front of her. “Is it not wonderful how, no matter how many years we are alive, space never feels any less vast?”

_ Yes, it really is wonderful, _ Aurora agreed, the floor under Nastya humming a little louder.  _ As for how many stars we’ve seen, I can offer you the sum of the stars we’ve individually seen, or just the number of those we’ve seen while together. _

Nastya chuckled, shaking her head. “It’s okay. I don’t need the exact number. It is big, though, isn’t it?”

_ Very, very big. And, not to be sappy- _

“You’re always sappy.”

_ Maybe I am! Anyway, the number still isn’t large enough to express my love for you. _

“That was very sappy.” Nastya shoved her shoulder against the wall adjacent to her. “But I could not agree more. We are lucky the rest of the crew isn’t here, though. I can only imagine how much Jonny would groan and grumble about ‘how insufferable the two of us are’.”

_ He is quite hypocritical, given how much of a romantic he tends to be. _

“He really is!” Nastya agreed. “You should tell him as much when he returns.”

_ I hope you don’t mind mending bullet holes in my wall panels, then. _

“You know I never mind doing repairs,” Nastya insisted. “Not only is it my job, but it offers us an opportunity to spend time together.”

_ Oh and you say I’m sickly sweet, _ Aurora teased, her lights flickering in laughter. 

“All I’m saying is that I enjoy doing my job. Being able to spend time with my wonderful girlfriend is only a convenient perk.”

_ Just a convenient perk, you say?  _ The lights flickered again, faster this time.  _ Well, it is just us tonight, and knowing Ashes, I am not sure how much more time we will have alone before they burn down the entire planet. What would you like to do? _

Nastya tapped her finger to her chin in thought. She always wanted to spend time with Aurora, either doing repairs, or simply talking to her girlfriend in a language that only they could understand, but Nastya felt as if that particular night called for something special–something they could not do with the rest of the crew on board.

“I have been practicing a song I want to play for you,” Nastya said, rising slowly from her pile of blankets and cushions and making her way across the room to her viola. “After that, perhaps you could sing something and we could play a duet?”

_ I would love nothing more. _

Nastya undid the metal clasps of her viola case, lifting the instrument by its neck and tightening the bow. She tuned her strings quickly, pleased to find that they had not slipped much since her practice session earlier that day. Inhaling calmly and deliberately, she began to play for Aurora. The piece she chose was slow; she had learned it millenia ago as a child, but had finally perfected it as her skill improved over countless hours of practice. After all this time, every double-stop rang with perfect intonation, vibrating deep within the body of her viola. Her fingers moved into position easily as she swayed gently with the lilt of the phrase. As she continued to play, she could hear Aurora quietly humming along, her walls buzzing with the joy of listening to the woman she loved so much play for her. Nastya drew her bow through rich, resonant chords and sweet, singing lines, smiling at the places where she would add a little extra vibrato. Finally, she played the final phrase, leaning into the gradual slowing of the final notes. She held the last note for just a moment longer than she usually would, letting it ring through the engine room even after her bow had left the string. 

With a smile, she lifted her viola off her shoulder and tucked it under her arm. “Did you like that, love?”

_ I am not capable of forming the words to express how much I enjoyed your playing,  _ Aurora said, the entire room glowing with a warmer light.  _ Perhaps I can explain how much joy that brought me by singing to you. _

“I would also love nothing more.” Nastya settled back into her pile of cushions, leaning her viola against her chest. 

Aurora began to sing. She started with a simple melody–one that Nastya could swear she had heard before, long, long ago. After her first iteration of the theme, Aurora began to expand on it, adding in rich harmonies with chords that grew in density before resolving into beautiful, perfect fourths and fifths. Nastya could feel the steady base line of Aurora’s song resonating deep within her chest, the higher lines bouncing off the metal walls and ensconcing Nastya in an embrace of ethereal, complex harmonies. The floor of the engine room shook with the intensity of Aurora's song, and Nastya truly felt like she was in the center of the universe. As Aurora continued to sing, Nastya could see the colors of the music–rich, dark reds, and vibrant yellows. The song was a reminder of how much Nastya loved music; when she found that she did not have enough words to express something, there was always a song she could turn to in order to convey that exact emotion. 

Aurora dropped the higher harmonies in her song, leaving only the chords in the bass line.  _ Would you like to join in now, my love?  _ She asked over the sound of her own music.

Nastya nodded, raising her viola and tucking it under her chin. Still seated, she gazed out of the observation window and began to improvise on top of Aurora’s song. It was in these moments that she wished sound could travel in space; she wished that she could share this beauty with everyone in the universe.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi jokes on you. you just got roped into reading a fic that's secretly just an excuse for me to info dump about music


End file.
